Central Valley Grading Changes Might Mean Fewer Perfect Scores

Parents of high-achieving students in the Central Valley School District are fighting grading changes that could result in fewer students earning 4.0 grade point averages.

The parents worry that their children may lose out on college admissions and scholarships.

College admission officials say that high school grading varies so widely, they already have to dissect individual transcripts to find just what each student’s GPA really represents.

The school district is talking about adopting a more precise grading scale, called an 11-point, or graduated, grading scale. An A would equal a 4.0; an A-minus, a 3.7; a B-plus, a 3.3; a B, 3.0; and so on. This change in grading scales was recommended by the state Board of Education last summer.

The district ran into opposition in January when the matter came to the board for approval. Rather than vote, the school board asked for more information.

Board members wanted “to make sure our students are not penalized when compared to other students, when it comes to entry into college, professional technical or work,” said Cynthia McMullen, school board chairwoman. The board is likely to consider the proposed policy again before the end of the school year.

Statewide, it’s not clear how many districts use the graduated scale. No one keeps those statistics. College admissions officials get plenty of transcripts using both systems.

“We would ask that they wait until all other schools are on board,” says Barbara Vawter, one of the Central Valley parents who asked the school board to reconsider. “We’re the only school system going ahead with this.”

That’s almost true. West Valley High School has been on the 11-point scale for several years.

East Valley High School is on a 10-point system. Roughly a decade ago, when East Valley changed to the 11-point scale, a few students who just missed a 4.0 pleaded for mercy.

“We’ve had pretty good luck with this system - politically,” said Jeff Miller, East Valley principal. Besides, “grading is an arbitrary art at best.”

Indeed, what’s the cutoff for an A? 90? 92? 94? Guidelines differ from school to school.

Spokane School District 81 administrators are waiting for principals to recommend any grading change, said spokeswoman Terren Roloff. They have so far not done so.

Mead School District eliminates all pluses and minuses from its final grades.

It’s exactly this uneven playing field that concerns Vawter and other parents.

“How will it affect our 4.0 kids who compete against students from other schools?” Vawter asks.

She adds that the quality of the curriculum is another concern.

“I know this group of students. Whatever you present to these kids, they’ll learn.

“This is an elite small group of kids, who will do anything, anything for an A. Are you putting the right things in front of them?”

Two issues collide here. On one hand, a 4.0 grade point average sometimes helps secure a major scholarship.

On the other hand, college officials say they have to look beyond a transcript to figure out what a student’s grade point average represents.

“GPAs are becoming more and more meaningless from high schools,” says Fred Pfursig, Whitworth College’s dean of enrollment services. “We just don’t know what grades mean any more.”

Different grading standards and curriculums complicate the issue, he adds.

“It seems like we see a lot of students who have very good GPAs, who don’t have as high test scores as you would expect. The conclusion we have, although many studies show that grades are a better predictor of success at college - we feel there’s a lot of grade inflation. So the SAT or ACT becomes very important to us.”

The University of Washington has found a way to even out the differences between grading policies at high schools around the state. The UW admissions office keeps a rolling five-year chart comparing incoming students’ high school GPAs with their year-end freshmen GPAs.

“That differential tells us something about the high schools’ grading practices,” said Tim Washburn, UW head of admissions.

When it comes to scholarships, there’s no simple answer.

There are some academic scholarships that require a 4.0 or extremely high GPA. In other cases, GPAs are only one of the criteria. “I wish I could give you a consoling answer,” said Phil Ballenger, Gonzaga University dean of admissions. “Parents simply need to do their homework,” learning what the case is for each college.

Grades alone normally don’t ensure a scholarship.

“For students at the top end of the scale, curriculum is every bit as important,” Washburn said.

East Valley High advisor Shirley Olson has helped students prepare college applications for seven years. She remembers two students a few years ago who were valedictorians, but got no scholarships. Because of their parents’ income, they didn’t qualify for financial aid.

“They couldn’t even afford to go to community college. They had to go to work,” she said.

Those are unusual circumstances. On the other end of the spectrum, West Valley High principal Cleve Penberthy tells of a bright senior who is strongest in arts and humanities, but decided to challenge himself with a couple of high-end math class.

His GPA suffered. Still, Penberthy went to bat for the student when it came to negotiating for a tuition waiver at the University of Idaho.

One of the things that swung the decision in the students’ favor, Penberthy said, was pointing out to the UI what a strong position West Valley has on the UW statewide grading chart. West Valley students going to UW enter with an average high school GPA of 3.66. They finish their freshmen year at UW with an average 3.09 GPA. That’s a differential of -0.57.

College educators agree that students’ course work is generally more important than their grades.

“I could have a 4.0 kid from Central Valley that has above-average test scores that took basic college prep curriculum,” said Gonzaga’s Ballenger. “Then I could have 3.4 kid with higher test scores, who loaded up on calculus and AP. And I would argue that’s a stronger student. That student would do better at Gonzaga, at least early on.

“I just wish they would focus on what the students are learning. Parents need to remember that the people at good colleges aren’t dumb.”

Graphic: How UW ranks area high schools’ GPA